Aerodynamic features on aerospace vehicles may be formed by lightweight composite panels that are attached to the vehicle airframe. For example, aerodynamic pressure fairings are often formed from large, reinforced honeycomb panels that may be connected together and attached by struts to an airframe. In order to cover large spans, thicker and/or higher density panels are required in order to react loads across the span, however these thicker panels increase the weight of the aircraft.
The honeycomb panels described above may be attached to the airframe by composite laminates that are ramped down along the edges of the panel in order to allow attachment of the edges to the airframe by fasteners. However, ramping down the edges of the honeycomb panel to a solid laminate along the panel edges adds weight to the panel. Moreover, since the entire load on the panel is transferred to the edges, the ramped down laminate section must be thicker in order to carry the load, thereby further adding to vehicle weight.
Accordingly, there is a need for composite panels capable of distributing point loads, as well as a method of making the panels.